The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry has recommended  the closure of all illegal fish ponds and sand mining sites along  Lake Victoria shores in Lwera.
The acting commissioner in charge of aquaculture management and development, Joyce Ikwput Nyeko, while appearing before the Parliamentary Natural Resource Committee which is probing illegal sand mining in Lwera said that it’s not 100% safe for activities of sand mining to take place in areas of fish farming.

The chairperson of the Natural Resources Committee, Alex Byarugaba.

She told the committee chaired by Isingiro South MP,Alex Byarugaba, that sand mining is mostly done at the shallow end of the water bodies and that this practice is affecting the breeding area of fish.

Nyeko added that government should gazette all areas with legal fish ponds a no go zone for sand mining since people think that when water collects in the sand ponds, it  can in turn be used for fish farming .

She also confirmed to the committee members that Aqua World Company which belongs to Prophet, Samuel Kakande, of The Synagogue Church of all Nations in Mulago has never been issued with a permit for sand mining apart from fish farming.

One of the areas where sand is mined in Lwera in Mpigi districts. MPs say such activities are destroying the environment.

However, MPs on the committee who included, Alex Byarugaba, Kumi Municipality MP, Aogon Cyrus, grilled the officials from the ministry of agriculture who included; the acting commissioner in charge of fisheries and resource development, Dr.Edward Ruukunya and Joyce Nyeko over their failure to raise an alarm against illegal sand mining in Lwera when people who were destroying Lwera wetland are hiding behind sand mining.